found the summer!

We found the missing summer this weekend!The forecast had been looking promising for a few days, so I was mildly optimistic about the weekend, and it didn't dissapoint.We got down to the boat rather late Friday, as C wanted to attend Sea Cadets, so a quick stuffing of various items into lockers and we were in bed.... Saturday dawned with a typical 'summer' high pressure morning... not a breath of wind, slightly misty, and not a cloud in the sky... with the barometer reading 1035, it bode well..... We'd already decided that Saturday would be a cleaning day. Poor Morgana, after a summer cruise, a 2 week enforced stay in Dover, and perhaps a weekend or two prior to that, was starting to look grubby.... so, after a quick motor back into our own berth from our temporary home it was all hands to the decks.... or rather, all kids to the decks... they donned shorts, filled a bucket, and scrubbed to their hearts content.... meanwhile SWMBO and I sett too down below... every surface was wiped carefully down to remove salt deposits, all woodwork was polished within an inch of its life, and both heads compartments were comprehensively scrubbed. With a sweet smelling and shiny interior, I set too in the cockpit... scrubbing, and even resorting to using a toothbrush to get into small gaps, she really began to gleam.... I even opened all the cockpit lockers and scrubbed round their recesses where they close..... hard work, but made easier by the glorious sunshine....By 15h00, we'd done enough to be satisfied, so downed tools, and set off for a long walk along the river bank... some 7 miles later, we were all exhausted, so instead of eating on board, treated ourselves to grub in The Shipwreck...A good days work, added to the walk, saw us in bed by 22h00, and for the first time this season, we stuck the heating on.... a blessed relief to a cool evening.Sunday started much the same way, and after a leisurely start, an enormous fried breakfast and copious coffee, we cast off the lines.... what a decision!Soon out to sea, and with between 7 and 10kts of wind and strong unbroken sunshine, it could only be described as perfect!.... I hardly touched the helm.... SWMBO and the kids argued over who got to drive next, and I sat and enjoyed the fact that slowly, everyone is building in confidence and competence...Sadly, we had to go home at some point, and locked back in and onto our berth without drama.... A great weekend, and a reminder of what the summer should have been like.

Miles logged 13nm
Miles this season 935nm
Miles since this blog started 3,882nm